Paul Kelly is not a 'particularly' well known name to many
but die-hard soulies, but his second single, "Chills And Fever" (Lloyd / Dial 1965), received plays 'up North' which is not the same song
that Thomas the Jones released as his second single in 1964. On the same
label the following year, Helene Smith recorded an answer song "Thrills And
Chills" which also had spins 'up North'. It was Kelly's sophomore single
following "It's My Baby" / "The Upset".
In a career spanning six decades from 1960-2011 he released eight
albums and around thirty plus singles. He achieved nine R&B chart
entries between 1970-76 with his biggest hit being "Stealing In The Name Of The Lord" (the title track from his debut album which has also had exposure
on the Northern Soul scene) reaching #14 in 1970. Thelma Houston
recorded the song on her self-titled album on MoWest but that song,
and a couple of other tracks, did not feature on the US and Canadian
issues, probably for fear of lashback from the bible bashers.
The two sides on the new Soul4Real single are, up until now, album
only tracks taken from two albums "You Make Me Tremble" from "Hooked, Hogtied & Collared" (1974) and "Come With Me" from "Don't Burn Me" (1973) both released on Warner Bros and both appear on 7" vinyl for
the first time.
Kelly was born in Miami in 1940 and formed a short-lived group with
his brother in 1956 after which he formed The Spades who became The
Valadeers who later joined Clarence 'Blowfly' Reid's group The
Delmiras. His first solo recording was "I'll String Along with You" for Dade which remained unreleased as Kelly had a disagreement with
Reid.
In 1994, and again in 1995, he suffered heart failure followed by a
stroke. He survived but his vocal ability was impaired, however, he recorded two albums since, "Let's Celebrate Life" (1998) which included a remake of "Stealing in the Name of the
Lord") and "1984" in 2011. Although not noted on his
Wikipedia
entry, according to John Lias' sleeve notes on the release, Kelly died
in 2012.
The single is available to pre-order for release on 27 Feb
2023.
€15 + postage (€3 Spain / €6.90 UK & Europe / €10.45 US &
rest of world)
Paypal (Friends & Family) to:
soul4realrecordlabel@gmail.com
Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.
Here is an artist that I have always liked, with his very special voice. Everything is good in his discography, but I have a weakness for his first and rare LP "Stealing In The Name Of The Lord" and especially the unmissable single which made me discover him "Sweet Sweet Lovin'" and which I invites you to listen first.
ReplyDeleteYves